Time after time, progressives have greeted expansion of gun rights with dire warnings that the expansion would turn society into the Wild West, and the streets would run red with blood. They said so after the Supreme Court’s two major gun-rights rulings in Heller and McDonald. They said so after the expansion of concealed-carry laws across the country. They said so after Virginia eased restrictions on guns in bars and restaurants.The RTD points out that facts are stubborn, and the facts show that the liberal claim that mores guns leads to more crime is wrong.
In every case, gun-related crimes fell.
However, the RTD should do a little more homework when it comes to determining just who is buying all those firearms.
Foes of gun rights might point out, correctly, that the percentage of Americans who own firearms is declining — therefore, the increase in gun sales is owing to existing owners who are buying more guns, not more people buying a gun for the first time.They should go up the road to Hanover just outside of Richmond and ask Green Top Sporting Goods, the retailer that the paper's database shows sold the most firearms in the seven year span, and ask them just how many were first time buyers. Or go to Colonial Shooting Academy in the west end of Richmond, and ask just who is taking all of those firearm training classes they teach. The RTD will likely find what those of us who pay attention to such things know, that, based on information from manufacturers who have compiled data from firearm warrenty registration cards, say that about 25% of the sales are to first time buyers. That has also been a big reason why you can't find ammo - more people owning firearms mean increased demand for ammo.
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